Masterfully crafted by Jon Randall, “Murder at Wisteria Pines” is the first in a new series of novels and short stories about the adventures of an iconic “grand old man” of the South, who extends his boundless life skills to the investigation of murder. This first volume finds protagonist Cornelius Astor-Beaudry responding to a poisoning at a local mansion, a mystery that will also see him take a tenacious English bookseller under his wing as an assistant.
Athens, AL -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/16/2014 -- Omen Books has already built a steadfast reputation for living up to its slogan, “The inconceivable is business as usual, and the usual is inconceivable.” The Alabama-based publisher, with offices also in Seattle, continues this culture with “Murder at Wisteria Pines,” a gripping new murder mystery novel by Jon Randall.
The novel is just the first volume of a planned series of books and short stories that stand unique within the marketplace for their enigmatic investigative duo that readers have likened to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Convention says that a “grand old man” of the South and a bookseller transplanted from England should be business acquaintances, not adventurous clue-hunting allies. But Randall and his creativity are anything but conventional.
Synopsis:
Cornelius Astor-Beaudry, fondly known as "the Colonel," invades the serene sanctity of Raymond Hilary's antiquarian bookstore in a dire search for a particular book on poisons. A maid at a local Georgia mansion, Wisteria Pines, has been found dead, the deed done apparently by poisoning.
From the moment the Colonel steps into Raymond Hilary's life, Raymond is caught up in a flood of events racing and raging beyond his control. Their first evening together becomes a white-knuckled ride to Wisteria Pines on the news that the patriarch, Angus Callahan, has also been found dead—but in a locked room with bars on its windows. It happened right after a voodoo doll had been nailed to the mansion's door.
Somehow three different wills appear to be involved, along with missing precious stones, Cajun legacies and legends, the founding of Acadia, the French Revolution, the British Crown Jewels, and an inheritance worth $6 million, making "Murder at Wisteria Pines" a must-buy, must-read book.
“The spirits of the Southern people are a central theme in this new series, exposing everything from the region’s grandeur right through to its squalor,” explains Randall, who lives and works in a writer’s cottage on the Elk River—which he admits is disappointingly 100 percent elk-less. “This landscape and its culture are seen from two very different perspectives. The Colonel is a throwback to the antebellum South and is as integrated into the region’s fabric as anyone could be. Raymond Hilary is a displaced Englishman who became stranded in America during a long convalescence from a fall in the Tetons, and settled in Georgia where he set up shop as a bookseller. He struggles to reconcile his British upbringing with the world he finds himself in, and still sees much of Southern life as foreign and strange. Together, their contrasts produce something quite powerful.”
Continuing, “Their playground is one of the country’s boldest and most culturally defined regions, which is constantly interacting with its people to twist the narrative and throw curve-balls when least expected. There’s plenty more adventure to be shared between the Colonel and Hilary; this is merely the beginning.”
Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. For example, Bree comments, “Mr. Randall must have been born with a silver pen in his hand to produce a book such as this. Thoroughly Southern in setting and character, the many plot lines twist and tangle, only to resolve themselves in yet another mystery. Thanks to the innocence and inexperience of the narrator, Mr. Hilary, the reader is never lost or left behind as the Colonel pulls card after card from his sleeve. This is definitely a ‘read it in one night page turner' which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.”
“Murder at Wisteria Pines” is available now: http://amzn.to/1rWmSkT. It is also available in all other electronic formats, including Nook, and ePub, and is also available as a trade paperback. On sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and other fine retailers.
For more information on Omen Books and to view their range of published works, visit: http://omenbooks.com
About Jon Randall
Jon Randall has been hooked on mysteries ever since he was given a set of annotated Sherlock Holmes stories as a young man. He began writing his stories about the Colonel and Raymond Hilary in the dead of night while still working a day job and raising a family. In the peace and quiet of a riverside cottage in his beloved South, he finally was able to finish this seminal story about Raymond Hilary meeting and becoming the personal assistant to Colonel Beaudry. Mr. Randall has two other novels and a collection of short stories about their adventures in the works. Write to him at jonrandall@vidiars.com.